Odd News

HORSE ESCAPES MD. RACETRACK, GALLOPS ALONG ROAD: LAUREL, Md. (AP) — Racetrack officials say a horse escaped from Laurel Park in Maryland and galloped 1.6 miles on a road with traffic before being caught.

Laurel Park spokesman Mike Gathagan says a 4-year-old gelding named Bullet Catcher was heading back to the barn after a workout about 9 a.m. Friday. Gathagan says the animal tossed a jockey and ran off the track onto Route 1.

Another jockey followed the horse in a truck.

The horse finally slowed down in front of a car dealership, and the jockey and a trainer were able to catch him. The animal was taken back to the track in a van.

Gathagan says the horse has some abrasions on his feet, but the full extent of any injuries would not be known for a few days.

OHIO RESTAURANT APPEALS FOR RETURN OF PET CHICKEN: YELLOW SPRINGS, Ohio (AP) — A western Ohio restaurant is trying to help a patron get his pet chicken back.

Peach's Bar and Grill in Yellow Springs has offered a $100 reward for the safe return of the pet named "Falcon," with no questions asked. It says a customer tucked the live chicken into his backpack when he came in to watch a band perform Jan. 5. But he says the pack with his chicken was stolen.

The Dayton Daily News reports that the customer said the chicken was his traveling companion.

NYC POLICE: CANNON FOUND LOADED WITH POWDER, BALL

NEW YORK (AP) — An 18th century cannon was found loaded with gun powder and a cannon ball Friday during a routine cleaning at the Central Park Conservancy.

Residual gun powder was spotted after a piece of rust was removed from the cannon, exposing the cannon ball, New York City Police said. Authorities were summoned to remove the gun powder and make the cannon safe for public display. The cannon came from a British Royal Navy Ship, the HMS Hussar, circa 1763 to 1780.

"We silenced British cannon fire in 1776 and we don't want to hear it again in Central Park," NYPD spokesman Paul Browne said.

Packing material, gun powder and a cannon ball are occasionally found inside cemented cannons when they are X-rayed during routine cleaning. A spokeswoman for the Central Park conservancy had no comment.

BILL TARGETS AIRBORNE 'DRONES' THAT SPY ON HUNTERS: RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — A Virginia state senator is pushing legislation that would take aim at unmanned "drone" aircraft that might prowl the skies over private lands snooping on hunters below.

Sen. Frank Ruff, R-Mecklenberg County, says his bill was inspired by a news story of an animal-rights group flying a small, camera-equipped, remote-controlled plane over a hunt club in Pennsylvania where captive pigeons were released and shot down.

In that case, the drone suffered the same fate as the pigeons.

There are no known tales of an airborne eye in the sky buzzing hunters in the fields and forests of Virginia. Ruff says his bill would keep it from happening.

The measure, SB954, would outlaw "the use of a drone by a private person to monitor and photograph persons lawfully hunting on private property, when the drone is used by a private person without the permission of the landowner." Violators would be charged with the misdemeanor offense of impeding hunting, punishable by a fine of as much as $500.